Colne Marina development for Brightlingsea

A new development at Colne Marina, first approved for planning in 1976, is set to bring job opportunities to Brightlingsea, Essex, as well as clean up and reinvigorate its creek.

The Morgan Marine project, now in the public consultation stage, will add 25 moorings, with the existing 90 re-formatted and improved. The marina development will create ten new jobs and attract visitors to the town, which, the company says, will boost retail and hospitality outlets, and generate engineering opportunities to local businesses.

Morgan Marine promises to incorporate best environmental practices in the project and has already spent £40,000 in the past twelve months removing wrecks of old vessels from the area.

The project will see the installation of the Blackwater Estuary’s first ever Seabin to collect plastic waste and other floating rubbish. This has the potential to be upgraded to filter out any petroleum-based surface contamination too.

There are plans to incorporate a specially designed bunded pit to separate waste for specialist processing and appropriate disposal, which is thought to be the first of its kind for a leisure marina and is fully endorsed by the Royal Yachting Association and British Marine.

“The Colne Marina has been a long time in the making and it’s extremely exciting to see it finally coming to fruition,” says Graham Miller, managing director at Morgan Marine. “It will totally transform the look of the creek for the better, clean up the environment and bring an influx of new visitors to the town, which can only benefit everyone. It’s important to us to give people immediate access to consult with us on the project as it will have a hugely positive impact on Brightlingsea and the environment.”

“This is really positive and exciting news for the town,” says Nicola Wren, a Brightlingsea resident. “We so often see housing applications passed for large estates but never see companies wanting to invest in our tourism infrastructure that the town so dearly thrives on.

“It’s of paramount importance that we keep the Brightlingsea boating fraternity in the town rather than them wanting to migrate annually to the larger marinas which provide facilities that Brightlingsea currently does not have.”

The first construction phase is planned for November 2021, with the process due to complete in March 2023.

Any questions regarding the project and the public consultation should be emailed to colnemarina@morganmarine.com.